TNNA!

Our adventure to TNNA began with trips to several stores to collect the necessary items for Ysolda's booth .....furniture, vintage tea cups, lighting, parasols, rugs and plumbing pipe were just a few of the things on our list!

Seeing as this was all Ysolda's idea (and given the fact that she is not a driver) she was packed in the back of the car with Bob for company!

Sarah (Ysolda's lovely assistant) and I shared the 16 hours of driving and sang along to a lot of Kate Rusby!

Like magic the booth was put together the following day with the helping hands of many other friends....it only took ALL day and a small amount of cursing at IKEA furniture! (or maybe that was just me)!


Above is my corner of the booth and yes that is a design for the new collection at the front! (Proof that work is being done).

Laura Chau of Cosmicplutoknits also brought along some of her samples.

(Stephen West, Casey, Laura Chau, Sarah, Mary Heather Cougar)

(Olga Buraya-Kefelian, Cecily Glowik Macdonald, Melissa LaBarre, Melissa Wehrle)

Lots of folks were very grateful for the couch that Ysolda hired....walking the convention center floor was no easy task! We even served tea and cakes on both weekend days and were mobbed with attendees. I don't have any photos of this part as I was too busy pouring cups of English Breakfast .......

Jess in an Audrey.

Mary Heather in a Kerrera and Snapdragon set.

Sarah in a Tanit's Jacket.

Cirilia and Laura modeling some of Ysolda's latest designs.

Everyone had fun trying on our samples and then getting shots of themselves in the photobooth (that's where the plumbing pipes came in).

Very enjoyable (with a tint of exhausting).....already scheming for next year!

Squam High

I've just returned from teaching at the Squam Art Workshops and it was a totally brilliant experience so I had to share some of the highlights here!
Of course I took very few photos as I was too busy enjoying myself to remember the camera!

SAW is held at the Rockywold Deephaven Camp up in New Hampshire. It's a stunning setting with cabins dotted throughout the woods, many of which have their own little dock. I was in a cabin with Jess and Casey, Jared Flood, Ysolda and her assistant Sarah. In between the teaching and the class taking that was going on we had the chance to hang out, swim, star gaze and of course knit!

I taught two full day classes, one on the Hap shawl and one on my Aestlight shawl. I had great students which made it super enjoyable and I think they all got a lot out of it. (Yeah and I have no photos of this part)!
There were all kinds of classes going on, block printing, sewing, embroidery, book making, spinning...and many more. Next year I plan on attending at least one class in a different medium!

On the final evening there was a marketplace filled with beautiful handmade goodies. Ysolda had a booth to showcase her patterns and I snuck in a few of mine too.

...free cake and beer from the Ravelry team....didn't last long!

Elizabeth (the organizer of this whole shebang) made it a very special experience for everyone attending. She lined up some awesome talent for our evening entertainment; the beautiful singing of Jonatha Brooke, the insanely entertaining, laugh-till-you-cry words of Stephanie Pearl-Mcphee, and the thought provoking stories of Jenlee.

So if you've ever wanted the perfect creative getaway you must check out this incredible event...you won't regret it!
Thank you so much Elizabeth for a rewarding and rejuvenating experience....can't wait for next time!